


The Force has Other Plans

by Lightwood912



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ben Solo Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Angry Ben solo, BB-9E is called Sphero in this, Ben has one arm, Evil Caedus Ren, Evil Snoke, Family, Gen, Han Solo Lives, Han Solo's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Torture, Leia Organa A+ Parenting, Lightside!Ben, References to Torture, Scavenger!Ben, sad Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-03-13 11:06:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13569291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightwood912/pseuds/Lightwood912
Summary: Ben Solo has lost faith in the force. Having not seen his parents in 23 years, and suffering at the hands of Snoke, he runs away from everything, letting the universe solve its own problems. Hiding away from both the First Order and the Resistance, he lives as a scavenger on Jakku with a reprogrammed BB-9e, named Sphero. Until, one day he gets caught in the middle of a situation he never wanted to find himself in. Now on the run from the First Order with a fellow scavenger, a rogue Stormtrooper and a BB-unit carrying a map to Luke Skywalker, Ben can only hope that this ends soon. But, the force has other plans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!!!
> 
> Author's Note: This is my first Star Wars Fanfiction. So, apologies for any mistakes i make. I know that Darth Caedus is the Sith name for Jacen Solo in the comics. But, i'm crap at coming up with names. And, once again i don't own anything!
> 
> If you don't like this, don't read and don't hate. Keep the harsh words to yourself.

_Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed._

_With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE. She is desperate to find her brother Luke and gain his help in restoring peace and justice to the galaxy._

_Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where an old ally has discovered a clue to Luke's whereabouts…._

* * *

 

Poe Dameron lay back against the back of the interrogation chair, his head slumped to the side. After hours of being pricked by needles and abused by harsh punches and electric shocks, he was exhausted. Taking a deep breath through his mouth, he tried to gather his thoughts and reserve his energy. His mind wondered off to the village on Jakku; he would never forgive the First Order for what they did.

Those villagers never deserved what happened to them. Slaughtered by the Stormtroopers at the command of Caedus Ren; at least BB-8 was able to get away. His thoughts drifted off to his droid. Poe could only hope that BB was safe, Jakku wasn't exactly the most hospitable planet in the galaxy; and with a droid like BB-8 roaming around the scavengers wouldn't hesitate to tear him apart and sell the pieces. Trying to banish the negative prospects, Poe assured himself that BB would be able to take care of himself, and began recalling what Lor San Tekka said to him. If what Tekka said is true, and if he really was still alive, they just may have a much more better chance in saving the galaxy.

"I had no idea we had the best pilot in the resistance on board." spoke a deep voice.

Startled, Poe peeled his eyelids back, blinking a few times to get rid of the blur restricting his sight. When he could finally see clearly, he saw where the voice came from. Standing in front of him, near the door, was a tall figure wearing thick black robes, with a hood over his head, and a sleek black and silver mask with sharp, empty eye-holes that revealed red-rimmed gold eyes.

"Comfortable?" Caedus Ren teased.

The pilot answered back, "Not really"

The Sith chuckled darkly as he began to step closer towards Poe."I'm impressed" he said as he stopped in front of the pilot, "no one has been able to get out of you, what you  _did_  with the map"

Poe leaned forward, "You might want to rethink your technique"

"Oh, i assure you Dameron, i will get the truth out of you. I have plenty of ways to make you sing." The Sith's eyes held a dark joyfulness as they narrowed, and Poe could only imagine the twisted smirk that was hidden beneath the mask. "However, i am on a tight schedule," he said as he took a step back "and don't exactly have time to play around. Maybe i can convince General Hux to give you to me, after he's done extracting information from you, to demonstrate  _my_ interrogation techniques."

Caedus then lifted his hand in front of Poe's face. The pilot stared at the hand for a few seconds, wondering what the Sith was doing, before he felt a sharp, needle-like, pain at the back his head, making him wince. He found it difficult to breathe and began to gasp out as the pain steadily grew. Caedus made a small pushing motion with his outstretched hand, and at the same time Poe was forcefully pushed back against the interrogation chair, smacking his head on it. The force-user's eyes scrunched up in concentration as he probed further into Poe's mind.

"Where is it?" he hissed.

Poe grunted as he felt the throbbing became worse and worse. Breathing heavily, he tried to block Caedus from entering his mind, putting up an imaginary wall as a defence.

Opening his eyes, Poe glared at Ren, "The Resistance...will not be...intimidated by you." he gasped.

The Sith sneered at Poe and pulled him forward, patience wearing thin, Caedus pushed harder with the force. "Where is it?" he asked again.

The resistance pilot felt the probing break through his mind with explosive pain. It was getting harder to breathe by the second, and sweat dripped down from his forehead. Caedus Ren smiled in sick delight as Poe began to scream and pushed through his defences and into the pilots memories. Images of past events flashed-

* * *

_Poe's had was outstretched as he sat in a small hut. The old man in front of him placed a small velvet bag in his palm, curling the pilots fingers around it._

_Lor San Tekka gazed straight into the pilots eyes as he spoke, "This will begin to make things right."_

* * *

_Crouched underneath his X-wing, Poe dug out the small bag from his pocket, opening it and pulling out the small projector it held._

_"You take this," he told an orange and white BB-unit. "It's safer with you, than it is with me" The droid opened up a compartment and let its owner place the item inside it._

_"You get as far away as you can, do you hear me?"_

* * *

Having what he needed, Caedus was about to pull out of the pilots mind before another memory caught his attention.

* * *

_"One more thing," Lor San Tekka grabbed Poe's arm before he could get up. "Besides her brother, i believe there is someone else whom she would like by her side again."_

_Intrigued, Poe listened intently. "Who?" he asked._

_"Her son"_

_Poe's eyes widened in shock. "Her son? Ben Solo? After all this time, he's still alive?"_

_Tekka nodded. "Yes, i saw him a few days ago, at Niima Outpost. He's working as a scavenger now. He's grown a lot and has changed much more, but his eyes are still the same. If you can get him back to his mother, the Resistance may have an even better chance at ending this."_

* * *

Caedus walked out of the interrogation room with large strides, leaving Poe in an exhausted daze behind him. Waiting outside the door was General Hux, hands behind his back, neatly oiled ginger hair and a ruler-straight posture. He looked up as Ren approached him, "What did you find out?"

"It's in a droid. A BB-unit."

"Well then, if it's on Jakku, we'll soon have it. I'll prepare a squad immediately."

"I leave it to you."

Hux nodded, and was about to walk away before Ren called out: "One more thing, General." The ginger turned to face him.

"Inform the men that if they come across a scavenger, they are to take him alive."

Hux' eyebrow rose in confusion. "There are many scavengers on Jakku. Is there a particular one you are referring to?"

"One without a right arm" Ren answered, then walked down the ships corridor, leaving Hux standing perplexed.

But, neither knew about Poe eavesdropping on their conversation. Straining to hear through the door, Poe picked up a vital piece of information-

_'Ben has one arm?'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything
> 
> Apologies for any mistakes, and for my crappy writing. Don't like, don't read, don't hate.

 

* * *

Brown eyes snapped open, a quiet gasp escaped from quivering lips. Ben stared at the roof of the sandstone cave, breathing hard from his frightful wake. Dark images continued to flash before him, painful reminders of things he desperately tried to forget. Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, hoping he could try to calm his raging heartbeat. But, his heart kept pounding on his rib-cage. Changing tactics he started to whisper-

"Sunsets, paper, stars, flowers, ink, trees…"

Feeling his heartbeat calm, he continued to chant those words, recalling past memories that gave him a slight taste of peace. Rolling onto his side he scanned over his 'home', making sure all his belongings were where he left them. He could never be too careful.

The cave he called 'home' was small. He lay on his 'bed', a nook at the back of the cave cushioned by ragged blankets. A wooden chest on the floor next to it held his personal belongings. An area to the left side was allocated as his kitchen, while a kennel-like hole was carved in the right side. And a tall ladder next to the hole led to the roof where a hatch was leading outside, while the front entrance to the cave was blocked by a thick metal sheet.

Seeing that everything was in its rightful place he sat up and ran his hand through his hair. He hasn't been able to get a full night's sleep in over two decades. Stupid nightmares.

With a heavy sigh he got up and walked to where a panel of reflective metal hung on the wall, serving as a mirror. Standing in front of it, he examined his blurry reflection. He remembered a time when he saw a healthy boy in front of him; but now, all he saw was a broken man with scruffy black hair that went past his shoulders and fell over his face, dull brown eyes with dark bags underneath them, his skin pale and sweaty from the heat and restless sleep.

Ben glanced down to his torso. He's eyes skimmed over the countless number of scars that littered his chest, before glancing at his right arm. Only, there was no arm. Just his shoulder, and where his arm was supposed to meet it; riddled with surgical scars. Staring at it was making his blood boil. Ben could feel the anger, the fear, the pain he experienced rising from his stomach. Without warning, he curled his remaining hand into fist and smashed it against the metal panel. The sound of the impact echoed throughout the cave. Ben stood there, panting, before he slowly pulled his fist away from the panel, revealing the imprint of his fist within the dent.

His breathing was shaky for the next few seconds. He looked to see the damage, and realised that when he punched the panel he also punched the cave wall, as a cobweb of cracks was creeping out behind the panel. His 'mirror' then made a small creak before it suddenly dropped onto the floor; showing the hole in the wall he created seconds prior.

A quiet series of beeps came from behind him.

Catching Ben's attention, he turned around to see a little red light staring at him near the ground. Even in the darkness of the cave, he could still see the outline of what was making the beeps, roll from the kennel hole in the wall opposite of him.

"Sorry Sphero," he sighed. "Did i wake you?"

A black droid in the shape of a ball with a round trapezium head at the top rolled in front of him. Another series beeps answer his question.

"Yeah..." he looked down at his feet, "Another nightmare. You'd think i'd be used to it by now"

Ben leaned down to pick up the dented panel and chucked it onto his bed.

"I'll eat some breakfast, then we'll head out."

Sphero let out a few beeps, circling around him once, then proceeded to the kitchen area and lighted up the stove.

Ben walked over and picked up a frying pan from the floor, along with a portion of veg-meat from a cool-box. It was the last one. Tipping the pieces out into the pan he left it to cook on the stove. It only took a minute for it to cook, and he soon found himself climbing up the ladder, with a plate holding his breakfast between his teeth, and through the hatch.

The sun was just starting to rise over the desert plains of Jakku. Red, orange and yellow were just starting to peek over the horizon. Ben sat on a rock ledge, nibbling on his meager meal. There were very few things about Jakku he liked, the sunrises and sunsets were one thing. They gave him the serenity he so desperately craved for years; allowing a peace of mind and a break from the conflict within him.

Another thing he liked about Jakku, was that it was free from the First Order's influence.

He crash-landed here twelve years ago, running from the Order, and hiding ever since. He never thought he'd spend his days scavenging for old parts in the skeletons of abandoned star-ships just for his next meal. He never had an easy life to begin with, but the First Order only made it worse. Now, he was stuck here, constantly starving and fighting for his right to live. At least it was better.

The First Order was a political and military faction that rose from the surviving remnants of the empire, slowly building over the past few decades. Despite committing acts that violated treaties, the New Republic did not see it as a major threat.

_'Idiots'_ thought Ben.  _'_ _They're pride and stubbornness with be the death of them'_

Ben knew the cruelty of the Order first-hand. He knew what they were capable of.

But, he wouldn't lift a finger to help stop them. He didn't want any part of it. Not anymore.

The sun continued to rise higher in the sky, shining its burning light across the desert. Figuring it was time to get to work, Ben shoved the last piece of veg-meat in his mouth and went back inside. He put away his plate, and started to get ready. Pulling on a sand-stained shirt that looked like it was made of bandages, he buckled his worn leather boots on, wrapped a fraying black scarf around his neck and clipped a wide belt around his waist. Opening the wooden box, he snatched a pair of shaded goggles and placed them on his head, along with a metal baton that he strapped to his belt.

He continued to dig around in the chest until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a dusty engine part from the bottom of the box, swiping off some grime that was stuck to it. It was the last part from the ship he crash-landed in, that would be able to get enough portions to last him some time. He'd been starving himself for the last two weeks, trying to make his limited portions last, but now, he needed as much as he could get. And he had no parts he could trade at the moment. The engine piece was a last resort when desperate times called for desperate measures. He only hoped that he didn't have to use it this time.

Grabbing a worn satchel next to the box, he stuffed the engine part in it and slung the bag over his shoulder. He placed the goggles over his eyes, and positioned his scarf to cover his head, nose and mouth.

"Come on, Sphero," his voice muffled by the scarf. "Let's get to work"

The droid beeped happily as it rolled to his side. He glanced down at it quickly before opening the metal front door, an entering the hot desert air.

* * *

FN-2187 marched purposefully down the corridor, holding his blaster with a tense grip. He never thought he'd do something this dangerous or this stupid, but he had no choice.

He'd been raised and trained as a Stormtrooper since birth; never knowing his parents or any other family he might have. He followed orders without complaint and not once did he question his actions. Until last night. Him and a fellow trooper, FN-2003, who he dared to call friend, were part of the squad that attacked the village on Jakku. It was his first mission, and he couldn't bring himself to complete it.

Shortly after arriving at the village, he witnessed his friend get shot, which resulted in FN-2003 receiving a fatal wound. He had died in his arms. Leaving nothing but a bloody hand-print on his white helmet. The sight had sent a shock through him. He left his friends body on the ground and staggered away, hiding behind the small huts of the village. He stopped breathing when he found one of the villagers hiding behind the huts with him. It was a woman holding her child. He instantly held his blaster up but he didn't pull the trigger They had stared at one another before he slowly lowered his weapon, allowing the woman and her child to escape.

But the chaos didn't end there. Once Caedus Ren had slain the old man, he ordered them to execute the villagers. Despite being ordered to do it, he never fired his blaster; and watched as the villagers screamed in pain and pleaded for mercy. That was the final breaking point. FN-2187, knew that this wasn't right. The villagers had done nothing wrong and yet they were still killed for absolutely no reason.

He had to get out and away from the First Order. And there was only one way he could do that.

FN-2187, rounded the corner and opened the door to the interrogation room. In the room was the resistance pilot sill strapped to the chair with another Stormtrooper standing guard.

"Ren wants the prisoner."

Without question, the Stormtrooper guard release the restraints on the pilot, then proceeded to cuff his hands together. FN-2187 grabbed the pilot by the arm and led him out of the room and into the corridor.

When the coast was clear he pushed the pilot into a small room to the side.

"Turn here." he ordered.

The pilot stumbled into the room with a confused expression on his face. Turning to face the Stormtrooper, he only grew more confused when the trooper started talking-

"Listen to me carefully. If you do exactly as i say, i can get you out of here."

Poe just stared at the trooper like he had an extra head. "what?" he whispered.

The Stormtrooper pulled off his helmet, revealing a man with a shaved head and dark skin. "This is a rescue." the man huffed. "I'm helping you escape. Can you fly a tie-fighter?"

Poe said nothing for a second, before he finally registered the mans words. "You with the resistance?" he asked.

"What?! No, no, no. I'm breaking you out. Can you fly a tie-fighter?" the man questioned again.

"I can fly anything." Poe boasted.

The man smiled and wheezed out a laugh.

"Why?" Poe asked. "Why are you helping me?"

The man went quiet before finally answering: "Because, it's the right thing to do."

"You need a pilot"

"I need a pilot" FN-2187 admitted.

"We're gonna do this" Poe smiled.

"Yeah?"

And that's how they found themselves walking through the hanger towards the tie-fighters. FN-2187 had put his helmet back and was marching Poe along with his blaster aimed at the pilot's back, but his finger nowhere near the trigger; giving the impression that he was escorting a prisoner. A MSE-6 droid scurried past them as they continued walking. No one payed any attention to them, but that still did nothing to calm FN-2187's nerves.

"Ok..." he panted. "Stay clam, stay calm"

"I am calm" Poe stated.

"I'm talking to myself"

The pilot turned look at him like he was nuts, before he turned back, while rolling his eyes, and kept walking.

A group of officer in dark uniforms marched past them. "Not yet." FN-2187 whispered. They waited until the group was further away. "OK, go! This way!"

Both of them ran to the ladders that reached the tower holding the parked Tie-fighters. Removing the bonds around Poe's wrists, they raced to the first fighter and slipped in through the hatch at the top. "I always wanted to fly one of these things" Poe as he slipped into the pilots seat and taking off his jacket. "Can you shoot?"

FN-2187 take off his helmet. "Blasters i can."

"Ok, same principle" Poe instructed as he started the fighter up. "Use the toggle on the left to switch between missiles, cannons and mag pulse. Use the sight on the right to aim. Triggers to fire."

"This is very complicated"

Poe moved the control sticks forward, causing the Tie-fighter to lurch, pushing Poe back into the seat. The fighter hovered for a few seconds being directed to the open hanger doors, When suddenly, it jolted and couldn't move any further, and Poe realised it was still tethered.

"I can fix this" and began to start pressing buttons to find the release for the tether.

* * *

Up in the control room, a young officer's attention was moved to alarms coming from his screen.

"We have an unsanctioned departure from bay two." he announced to the head officer.

His superior looked out the window witnessing the commotion. "Alert General Hux. And stop that fighter."

* * *

Back in the hanger, the Stromtroopers were pulling in crates of blasters and firing at the rogue Tie-fighter. While Poe was trying to remove the tether, FN-2187 was trying out the controls the for the cannons. Aiming, he fired the laser cannons at the troopers on the ground, as the fighter swerved to the side he then shot at the remaining Tie-fighters still parked in their bays. Destroying them one by one. He soon focused his attention back to the troopers on the ground. He continued to fire randomly, still not used to the controls. He spied the control room and began to aim the cannons up towards it. The shot hit its mark, and he watched as the windows of the control room shattered and the officers behind it were blown back.

"I got it!" Poe called. He pressed a button near the roof of the fighter, and instantly the tether released. Poe maneuvered the Tie-fighter to the hanger door and they shot out into space.

"Whooaaa! This really moves." he exclaimed. He flew the fighter around the Finalizer, swerving to dodge the lasers the cannons were firing at them

"Alright, we gotta take out as many of these cannons as we can or we're not gonna get very far!"

"Alright" FN-2187 confirmed.

"I'm gonna get us in position, just stay sharp."

The Tie-fighter swerved down to the underbelly of the Star-destroyer, nearly skimming the surface of the ship, while dodging the lasers. Weaving past a few cannons, Poe angled the fighter on a straight path. "Up ahead!," he called. "Up ahead! You see it?!"

"Yeah" the trooper answered.

"I got us dead center. It's a clean shot"

"Ok, got it" He uses the toggle on the right to aim and lines the shot up with the help of the screen in from of him, he started to repeatedly shot at the target as Poe flew the fighter around the cannons. The shots hit, causing both cannons to explode.

"YEAH!"

"Yes!"

"Did you see that?! DID YOU SEE THAT?!" FN-2187 yelled excitedly.

"I saw it." Poe replied with a very big smile on his face.

The Tie-fighter weaved through the Finalizer's hollow structure, near the tip of its arrowhead figure. Poe continued to swerve the small ship with the intention of missing the lasers being shot at them by the remaining cannons.

"Hey! What's your name?" Poe asked.

"FN-2187." the trooper replied.

"F...What?!"

"That's the only name they ever gave me"

_'Kriffing monsters'_ Poe thought. "Well, i ain't using it. FN, huh?" He paused for a second. Then his head shot up with a bright look. "Finn! I'm gonna call you Finn! Is that alright?"

"Finn..." the other man tested. "Yeah. Finn. I like that."

The pilot introduced himself. "I'm Poe. Poe Dameron."

"Good to meet you, Poe"

"Good to meet you too, Finn"

* * *

"Sir! They've taken out our Turbolasers." announced an officer.

General Hux stalked down the walkway of the bridge, his posture never faulting, but he carried a frustrated expression. "Use the Ventral cannons." he directed at an officer behind a console terminal.

"Yes sir! Bringing them online"

As the officer prepared the arrangements of his task, Caedus Ren marched onto the bridge. "General Hux!" he called. "Is it the Resistance pilot?"

"Yes," he answered. "And he had help...from one of our own. We're checking the registers now to find out which Stormtrooper it was."

But, Ren already knew which on it was. Thinking back to Jakku, he remembered a Stormtrooper who was different than the rest. When it was ordered, the trooper didn't fire his weapon at the villagers and claimed his blaster was broken. If he recalled correctly, that trooper was sent for reconditioning.

"The trooper from the village. FN-2187" Ren stated.

"Sir!" Both Ren and Hux turned sharply to the call. "Ventral cannons hot"

"Fire!"

* * *

Two large cannons, designed in a cross structure, turned towards the Tie-fighter. Firing four shots of shining blue light missiles that resembled shooting stars. The blue lights streamed through the emptiness of space, making sharp turns and weaving around each other like dancers. But, they were locked on to a target.

Alarms blared within the fighter, alerting Poe and Finn to the oncoming threat. "One's coming coming towards you. My right, your left!" Poe shouted. "Do you see it?"

"Hold on," Finn peered at the monitor as the incoming shots appeared on the screen. "I see them!"

Finn scrunched his face up in concentration as he aimed. Flicking a few switches and placing his hands back onto the controllers. Firing a few shots that missed, he finally hits one of the missiles, blowing up in its tracks.

"Nice shot!" praised Poe as he looped the Tie-fighter around towards the desert planet, with the remaining missiles trailing behind them.

"Where are we going?" Finn panicked.

"Where going back to Jakku. That's where"

"No, we can't go back to Jakku!" Finn turned to try and face him, tearing his eyes away from the monitor. "We need to get out of this system"

"I gotta get a couple things before the First Order does." Poe explained as they continued towards the planet.

"What things?"

"I gotta find a one armed scavenger named Ben." Poe swerved, just missing a laser. "If i can get him, the Resistance will have a very good chance of winning this. Besides, i gotta get my droid."

"A droid." Finn couldn't believe this. First a scavenger, now a droid?

"That's right. He's a BB-unit, orange and white, one of a kind."

"i don't care what colour he is!"Finn shouted. "No droid can be that important!"

"This one is, Pal!" Poe countered.

"We gotta get as far away from the First Order as we can. We go back to Jakku, we die!" The former trooper argued.

"That droids got a map that leads straight to Luke Skywalker!"

Finn's eyes went wide as plates. "Oh! You gotta be kidding me! What-"

Before he could say anything else, one of the missiles hit them. Leaving the Tie-fighter's wings damaged, and engine corrupted. Sending them spiraling down to planets surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any mistakes again, and for my crappy writing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!
> 
> Apologies for my poor dialogue writing, haggling and any mistakes, and don't expect quick updates.
> 
> Don't like, don't read, don't hate.

Ben pried off the cover of a busted panel on the side of the wall. He balanced on a thin, rusty, metal rod, like an acrobat would on a tightrope; standing on the tips of his toes to reach the panel. Letting the cover drop all the way down the abyss that lay open beneath him, and trying not to look down, he reached into the panel panel box, and gripped a handful of old wires. Figuring this could be useful, Ben held the wires tight in his hand, and ripped them out of the box.

He yelped when the momentum of the pull caused him to lose his balance. Because of this, the rod he was on started to creak and moan. Knowing he didn't have a lot of time before the rod gave away, he frantically shoved the dusty wires between his teeth, freeing his only hand, and grabbed for the edge of the box and placing both his feet on the wall. Breathing hard, he waited for the creaking to stop. When it did he cautiously stepped back onto the rod, it creaked a little under his weight but stayed put. This area was called 'unstable' for a reason.

Not wanting to waste any time, he carefully stood on his toes again and peeked inside the panel box. From what he could see, there wasn't anything left; just a few hanging, broken, wires. But, he looked closer and way at the back was a part he didn't recognise. Reaching in with his scratched up hand, he grabbed the part and began to pull it. It came out fairly easy. Bringing the part in front of him and examining it, he recognised the part. It was a component of the hyperdrive motivator. He thanked whoever was stupid enough to leave it here, as this alone would fetch him a few portions. Stuffing the component in his satchel, along with the other four pieces he found, he reached for the rope attached to his belt, and tied a loop at one end, with some difficulty. Spotting a broken metal beam on the wall, he threw the loop of the rope over it pulling it tight, he prepared to jump down when he was overcome with fear.

Without meaning to, he looked down to where his feet were balanced on the rod, combined with the bottomless drop under him, he was instantly reminded of past events.

* * *

_His was breathing fast, close to hyperventilating. He stood on a thin wire spanning across the length of a bright red room, balancing several metres above the ground on shaking legs. With his hands bound behind his back, he couldn't stretch his arms out for balance, and with each passing second his wobbling continuously got worse._

_He was tired and stuck in the middle of the wire, not able to turn back and not wanting to go forward, he tried to keep his balance and prevent himself from falling down to the hard floor below._

_"Awww" a deep voice cooed. "Is the little bird stuck on the wire?"_

_Standing on a small platform where one of the ends of the wire was tied to, was a tall man dressed in black with a golden eyes, a sickening grin spread across his face. The man looked down towards a throne in the middle of the room._

_He turned to follow the mans gaze and stared frightful at the figure sitting on the throne._

_"Cut it." a voice sneered._

_Before he could protest, he felt the wire go slack under his feet._

_He fell._

* * *

Ben snapped back to reality, panting hard. Why did this keep happening? He never asked for this. He didn't want to remember those years of suffering at the hands of monsters. Blinking his eyes repeatedly, he tried to keep the threats of tears at bay. He hadn't cried in over a decade and he wasn't going to start now, as it would solve nothing. Keeping the rope in a tight hold of his shaky hand, and started to recite his chant:

"Sunsets, paper, stars, fl-AH!"

All of a sudden, the rod he was standing on gave way. The air rushed past him as the falling sensation reached his stomach. But, it only lasted a few seconds, as the rope he was holding was pulled taught and he halted in his descent, swinging slightly on the rope. The rod travelled down the abyss, occasionally knocking against the wall and the occasional beam. Hanging onto the rope, Ben followed the rods fall and soon found himself incredibly annoyed.

"Why can't i catch a break?" He huffed, rolling his eyes.

Making sure none of his scavenged parts had fallen out, he slowly slid down the rope descending into the abyss.

He didn't particularly like scavenging in the unstable areas, but he would what he could to survive. Not a lot of the other scavengers came up to these parts of the Star-Destroyer ruins because, like its name, it was unstable. The metal structures had rusted and been eaten away by the corrosive sand making the skeleton fragile and unpredictable. Only the best scavengers were able to venture into these parts. Ben had been trained to be quick and light on his feet, to assess situations and get out of them; though he does admit he's a bit out of practice.

His feet slammed against the bottom of the abyss. Leaving the rope he journeyed through a vast room that echoed his steps, and exited the wreckage, walking out in the blistering heat of the desert. He spent a few good hours here, collecting old parts that he knew would be able to fetch at least a few portions.

An angry beeping in the distance caught his attention.

Ben had hated sand the moment he crashed on Jakku. It was course, and rough, and irritating, and it got everywhere. Running in it wasn't easy either. He slid down a tall sand dune, feeling some the grains sneaking into his boots. He had parked his speeder down here and left Sphero to guard it like he usually does. There was always the concern that another scavenger could come by and steal his speeder and Sphero, but the little droid had made it fairly clear that he was able to handle himself on many occasions.

Arriving at his speeder, and seeing that it was where he left it, he couldn't find Sphero. Another round of beeps made him turn. Not too far away, he could see the black BB-Unit chasing two Steelpeckers. Rolling his eyes, Ben began to make his way over.

Ben had arrived in time to see Sphero unleash his taser on the metal-eating birds, which made them finally fly off. He looked down at Sphero with a questioning look; despite wearing wearing goggles and his scarf around his mouth and head, he knew the droid could tell. A series and low sounding beeps answered his silent question.

"They were not looking at you funny." he scolded. "I know you get bored waiting for me to come back, but that's no excuse to wander off."

Another series of beeps.

Ben sighed. "Yeah. I know, they're a nuisance. Come on, i found some good stuff. Let's go trade these and head home, i wanna get back before it's dark."

Without complaint, the BB-Unit followed Ben back to the speeder. It was made by Ben himself. It took a few years to build because of the lack parts, but he was able to eventually produce a working speeder; though he hit a roadblock when he realised that he couldn't pickup Sphero onto the speeder with his one arm. He later created a small lift controlled by a winch attached to the back of the speeder to pickup the BB-Unit for him. It made it easier for the both of them. Using some black panels from crashed Tie-fighters, he was able to decorate it to his liking, though Sphero often liked to insult it, Ben knew the little droid secretly liked it.

The scavenger winched Sphero up to the droids designated seat at the back, strapping him in place, before proceeding to get on himself, turning on the speeder an heading off to Niima Outpost. Leaving a trail of flying sand behind.

They had reached their destination half an hour later. Parking his speeder just outside the Outpost, he and Sphero got off and journeyed inside. The outpost was busy today, scavengers of different kinds were walking in and out while aliens ran the market stalls, talking loudly in many languages; there were a few he could understand. Taking off his goggles and unwrapping his black scarf from his face and settling it to sit around his neck, he headed to Unkar Plutt's stand.

Unkar Plutt was a large Crolute who ran the Outpost, he was a Junk Boss who employed Scavengers to bring him old parts from the wreckage's, and in exchange he gave them portions as payment. However, the greedy Blobfish, as he was called behind his back, always gave less than what the parts were worth and often starved them. He hardly ever left his stand because of the harsh desert weather, but Ben thought he was just a coward, scared of his own scavengers.

When he got to Unkar's stand, he saw it was devoid of a waiting line, and he saw the reason why. The stand was closed. Sighing in frustration he marched towards the stand, with Sphero hot on his heels. He didn't scavenge for hours in the unstable area to denied his wares. When he reached the barred window of the stand, he knocked (banged really) on the metal grate blocking the window. When no one answered, he banged louder until he finally got a response.

The metal grate shot up revealing a broad backed, wrinkled, blob of fat with beady black eyes. "What in Maker's name do you want!"

Ben answered him with a silent glare.

"Ah! Kylo! What can i do for Jakku's best scavenger?" Unkar crowed. Ben never used his real name here. While Jakku was a lawless planet that stayed out of the government feuds of the galaxy, he couldn't be too careful of who could be listening.

Ben dug into his satchel and pulled out four small dusty pieces from it, leaving the engine and hyperdrive parts, and slamming it on the stands window bench.

"You've been wondering around the Unstable parts again, huh?" Unkar chuckled, taking note of Ben's scratched up hands.

"I don't have time for your useless banter, Unkar." Ben stated, keeping his glare.

The Blobfish growled. Ben knew he shouldn't have said that, as provoking Unkar would just lower the amount of portions he'd receive. He already risked that by not scrubbing them.

Picking the pieces up, Unkar pretended to examine them closely. "These pieces are worth...two quarter portions."

That wasn't enough. While he could last two days on the amount he was given, he liked to visit the Outpost as little as possible, preferring to stock up on portions, rationing them as he collected parts. Seeing no choice, he grabbed the Tie-fighter engine part from his satchel, leaving the hyperdrive piece; now thinking it worth more than the engine. He placed it on the bench in front of Unkar, watching as the Junk Boss' eyes widened.

"Where did you find this?" the shocked Crolute asked.

"None of your business," Ben shot back. "I want fifteen portions and three canisters of water for it. And an extra five portions for the small parts"

Unkar laughed loudly. "Twenty portions?! No can do. I'll give you three portions for all of them."

"Eighteen and two canisters for all." Ben countered.

"I don't think your getting it. You're not gonna get any more than five portions."

The scavenger leaned in. "Then no parts."

"You think you can threaten me? I have other scavengers who can get me parts." the blob sneered.

"But, they can't get you parts like this."

Unkar's face wrinkled up even more. "I can always take it off you forcefully."

Ben almost smiled. "Do you remember what happened to your goons last time you sent them after me?" Ben could remember it like it was yesterday. Unkar tried to get him to sell Sphero with the promise of seventy portions. Ben had declined and as a result, Unkar sent his thugs to take Sphero. Despite having one arm, Ben was able to fight them off, and even left one of them with a cracked skull.

Unkar remained silent and Ben knew he had him. "Look, you know you can't get this piece from any other scavenger, and you know what will happen if you send your thugs to take it off me. So, why not do us both a favour. You take all these parts, and in exchange you pay me fifteen portions and two canisters. Deal?"

The Blobfish glared at Ben for a few seconds before bending down to grab the portions and canisters, slamming them on the bench. Full of pride, Ben took the portions and water, slipping them in his satchel. "Pleasure doing business with you." And he walked away, hearing Unkar growl and the metal grate slam shut.

At his feet, Sphero let out a few cheerful beeps, impressed at what he did. Ben merely nodded his head in gratitude back. He made his way to the scrubbing station, wanting to clean the hyperdrive part. As he was walking there he heard a commotion and stopped to look at what was going on. He rolled his eyes when he saw a fellow scavenger fighting off Unkar's goons with her staff. She was short and thin, but Ben knew looks could be deceiving. Everyone knew not to pick a fight with her. Knowing that the thugs were fighting a losing battle, Ben returned to his own business and continued on to the scrubbing station.

He found a seat at the end of the table and dug out the hyperdrive part. Sphero beeped, letting Ben know he was going to wander around. The droid had picked up a hobby of scavenging in his own way by roaming about the Outpost, looking for any small nuts and bolts that people had dropped. Ben nodded in acknowledgement, trusting the BB-unit not to cause or fall into any trouble.

Scrubbing parts wasn't easy to do with one hand. So he placed the hyperdrive part between his legs, holding it there and grabbed a brush. Dipping the brush lightly in cleaning oil he began to scrub the part furiously. His thoughts wondered off to his parents. He hadn't seen them in 23 years. Ben knew his mother was with the resistance, doing what she did best; and his father was probably jumping from one part of the galaxy to the next. But, he couldn't help thinking if they were still looking for him. He gave up on that hope a long time ago, but some part of him still wondered.

Loud beeps, cut through his thoughts. Looking down behind him, he found Sphero holding out a bolt in a thin, stick-like arm coming from one of his compartments. Setting the brush down on the table he held his hand out, letting the droid drop the bolt into his hand.

"Good job, buddy." he said, patting the droids head.

Sphero whistled some excited beeps, spinning in a circle and shot off again to look around the outpost. Ben would never regret reprogramming the BB-unit the day he ran from the First Order. He was a good companion, offered him support when he needed it and was always there for him. He owed a lot to the droid. Turning back to the scrubbing table and snatched a tool to pick out the grime and sand from the part. He was surprised that it was in such a good condition, considering where it had been sitting for the past three decades.

More beeps came from behind him.  _'That was quick'_ Ben thought. Pacing the tool onto the table Ben turned around again, expecting to see the black BB-unit.

"Find something else alre-" Ben cut himself off as soon as he saw that it wasn't Sphero behind him.

But, a white and orange BB-unit staring up at him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!
> 
> I really hate this chapter, apologies for my crap writing

 

_A few hours earlier_

The orange and white droid slammed onto the ground.

"Don't give up hope." A girl spoke as she walked by him to the side of her red speeder. "He still might show up. Whoever it is your waiting for. Classified"

BB-8 looked up at the girl. He had spent the day before wandering the desert after escaping from the village. He didn't like leaving Poe behind but, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Poe promised he'd come back to look for him, that everything would would be fine, and the pilot wasn't known for breaking promises.

He had roamed the desert for countless hours until he got caught in the net of a Teedo scavenger who wanted him for parts. It was luck when another scavenger, a human girl called Rey, came and protected him. She had reluctantly let him stay the night and gave him a ride to Niima Outpost in the morning. But, even though he owed her, he never divulged any information about his mission.

"I know all about waiting." Rey continued, grabbing her bag and slinging over her shoulder.

BB beeped curiously at the comment.

"For my family," she answered. "They'll be back. One day. Come on."

With that she headed into the outpost with BB-8 following her closely. She was a young girl, couldn't be anymore than twenty, with sun-kissed skin and brown hair that was pulled back and tied into three wore sand-stained clothes and carried a quaterstaff in her hand. Despite growing up growing up on a harsh planet, Rey was very kind and bright, but BB-8 knew that was just one side of her.

BB-8 rolled closely behind her as she made her through the market and to join the waiting line atUnkar Plutt's stand.

Rey dumped the five pieces onto the window bench when it came to her turn.

"These five pieces are worth..." Unkar Plutt pick up one the pieces. "Let me see. One half portion."

The Crolute placed the portion of the bench in front of an annoyed Rey.

"Last week they were half a portion each." she protested.

"What about the droid?" Unkar asked, ignoring Rey's words.

Confused, she looked towards BB-8, who was next to her feet. "What about him?"

"I'll pay for him." The Junk Boss bent down and rose back to slam a large amount of portions on the bench followed by more on top of it. Rey stood still in shock as she stared at the portions, breathing heavy.

"Sixty portions" Unkar announced.

Rey rushed forward to grab the portions. Hunger was constant on Jakku. She never experienced a time where she could have three meals a day, having to work hard just to get something to eat. Sixty portions could last her  _weeks!_ But, she stopped herself. Would she really sell BB-8? Looking down at the droid, who looked back up at her, she started to have second-thoughts. Rey had protected BB, saved his life, and now she was just going give him away to someone who will rip the droid apart?

"Actually," she said. "The droid's not for sale." Rey lets go of the pile of portions, and takes the half portion next to it. She pockets it and walks away for the stand with BB following.

Unkar Plutt stood flabbergasted at Rey's rejection. But, that soon changed as he suddenly swiped the sixty portions onto the floor of the stand and ripped a comm from his belt.

"Follow the girl and get that droid." He barked into the comm.

And the metal grate slammed down, closing the stand.

* * *

Finn awoke with a gasp. The first thing he registered was the heat, then the burning light of the sun. Looking around, he saw that he was in the desert on Jakku. Sitting up, he unbuckled the straps that were still around his waist and stumbled to his feet. Gathering his thoughts, recalled his last memories. He had defected from the First Order, made his escape in a Ti-fighter, was shot down, had help from the resistance pilot, Poe. Poe.  _Poe!_

Circling on the spot, Finn spotted a stream on smoke rising behind a sand dune a kilometre away. Realising it was the crash sight of the fighter, Finn wasted no time getting there.

"Poe!" he yelled as he reached the wreckage.

The Tie-fighter was trashed. Parts of it were scattered in different places, the main body of the fighter had caught on fire and thick black smoke was pouring out from the flames.

"Poe! Poe!" Finn continued to call as he came around the front of the wreckage and spotting Poe's leather jacket. "Poe! I got you!"

Thinking it was Poe, Finn rushed and reached for the jacket, pulling it from the burning wreck. However i was only the jacket that came. Panicking, Finn tried to look through the red-tinted porthole of the fighter for Poe. But, he was stopped when a loud rumbling sound alerted him. Stepping back, watched in awe as the Tie-fighter crumbled in on itself and was being swallowed by the sand. Fearing for Poe, he continued to shout the pilots name-

"Poe! Poe!"

In a matter of seconds the wreckage disappeared, not leaving a trace of it behind. He lowered his head in sadness, but barely had time to grieve when fighter exploded from underneath the sand, throwing him backwards. When the sand settled, Finn shakily got back up to his feet, panting heavily. Poe was gone. His new-found friend had just perished in a horrible way and he was alone in an endless desert with the First Order on his tail. He clutched tightly on the jacket in his hand, there would be time to mourn Poe later, for now he had to get out of here. With a heavy heart he turned to the desert plains, picked a direction and marched on.

It was hours until he found life. He had abandoned his Stormtrooper armour to try and lessen the heat, as well as get rid of his First Order identity and he used Poe's jacket as a shield from the sun. He was dehydrated and tired and was slowly losing hope to find a way to get of this damn planet. But, his hope rose again when he came to the top of a sand dune. Standing a few kilometres away was civilisation, a small outpost. There was bound to water. And maybe a pilot to get out of here!

Slipping on Poe's jacket, Finn skidded down the tall dune of sand, losing his balance near the bottom of it and rolling down the rest of the way. Not caring for that, Finn ran for the outpost.

Running through the entrance, he started his search for water. Finn rushed through the market bumping into people, making them protest in many different languages. But, he ignored them.

"Water! Water!" he chanted in faint voice, he's throat unbearably parched.

He stopped to catch his breath, grasping on a wooden pole of one of the market stalls. ' _Was there any water?'_ he asked in his thoughts. A splashing sound from behind him instantly caught his attention. Looking at the source of the sound he saw a Happabore happily drinking water from a well-like bowl. Without hesitation, Finn ran to it, greedily scooping up water to his mouth, quenching the fire burning in his dry throat, despite the foul taste it had.

* * *

Rey was crouching next to BB talking with him when she was tugged on by her shoulder.

A man dressed on dark clothing and wraps around his head spoke in an alien language.

_"Unkar Plutt wants the droid."_

"What!"

Rey turned to see another thug drop a large sack over BB-8. "Oi! Get off of him!" Rey yelled, as she kicked the one who had the sack, into some pottery of the nearby stall; making the other thug grab her from behind, lifting her up for second before she bit his arm.

* * *

Finn was pushed away from the water hole by the Happabore, landing on his back. Wondering what just happened, his thoughts were cut off when he heard shouts and the sounds of struggling. He turned to see a young woman fighting off two thugs, while others stood back and watched. Finn got up and towards the fight.

"Hey!" he shouted. But, he stopped as he witnessed the girl the hit the one of the thugs with her staff, before the other snuck up behind her, grabbing her staff, trying to trap her. She used it to her advantage and kicked the thug in front of her away. The girl then stepped under he staff and pushed it up under the remaining thugs chin, dazing him before whacking him on the head, rendering him unconscious.

Seeing that the girl didn't need help, Finn watched the people return their own business; people getting into fights must be a common thing here. He returned his gaze to girl and saw crouch down to remove a sack, revealing a droid. Looking closer at it, the droid seemed familiar. He's never seen it before but, he feels like he should know it.

The girl was talking to the droid, but Finn hardly paid attention to what she was saying, too focused on the BB-unit. He stepped closer to them, just as the droids head turned to his direction. The second the droid saw him, it let out a long shrill beep, alerting the girl next to him. Rey gave him a glance before looking back at the droid listening to its words. The girl looked back at Finn, asking the droid if he was the one it was talking about. Finn glanced behind to see if they could be talking about someone else, but when he turned back to them, he saw the girl stand up and run  _towards him!_

Slowly backing away from her, he hoped she would somehow stop, but the anger on her face said otherwise. With seconds to spare, Finn bolted through the market, weaving his way around stalls and people. He repeatedly looked behind him to see if the girl was still chasing after him, but he didn't see her. Going behind a stall, he was met with a staff to his face.

With pained shout he fell onto the ground as the girl stood over him, pointing her staff at his face.

"What's your hurry thief?" she asked.

"What? Thief?" He wasn't a thief!

The droid rolled up next to him, opening the compartment that held his taser, zapping Finn in the leg.

"OW! HEY!" he protested.

"The jacket." the girl said "This droid says you stole it."

"I've had a pretty messed up day, alright? So, i'd appreciate it, if you stopped accusing me of- OW!" He was cut off by another zap to the leg. "Stop it!" he demanded.

"Where did you get it?" she asked. "It belongs to his master."

Then it clicked.

_"He's a BB-Unit, orange and white, one of a kind."_

Poe's words echoed through his head. This was Poe's droid! The droid holding the map to Luke Skywalker! Now it made sense. Poe wasn't here and he was wearing the pilots jacket, the droid didn't know about Poe. Taking a deep breath, Finn looked at BB.

"It belonged to Poe Dameron. That was his name, right? He was captured, by the First Order. I helped him escape, but our ship crashed." Finn's eyes turned sympathetic. "Poe didn't make it."

BB slowly drooped his head, letting out a low sad beep. His owner was dead.

"I tried to help him" Finn consoled. "I'm sorry."

But, BB wasn't listening. The droid tucked his taser away and moved his head to the other side of his round body before rolling away in grief.

Rey watched BB go, feeling sorry for the little droid, before turning back to Finn.

"So, you're with the resistance?" she questioned.

Finn, who wiping sand off himself looked up at her question. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Finn spoke:

"Obviously." He stood up. "I am. I'm with the resistance, yeah.  _I'm with the resistance."_

Rey faintly smiled at him. "I've never met a resistance fighter before."

"Well, this is what we look like. Some of us. Others look different."

Rey looked back at BB who stood nearby. "BB-8 says he's on a secret mission. He has to get back to your base."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Apparently, he has a map that leads to Luke Skywalker, and everyone's after it."

Rey head shot back to Finn, a big smile on her face. "Luke Skywalker?" she whispered. "I thought he was a myth."

A series of beeps caught both of their attention. Shifting their sights to BB, they saw that he wasn't there.

"BB-8!" Rey called. "BB-8!"

"Where'd he go?!" Finn asked.

"I don't know!"

Both of them rushed to where they last saw the droid, circling around in search for BB. Finn ducked around nearby stalls, moved curtains and checked under tables, but found no trace of the droid. Rey walked around the market, clutching her staff tightly, but kept to the area near where BB was last sighted. Rey huffed in frustration, she promised BB-8 that she would help him find whoever he was waiting for, it did not go the way she thought it would, but she still going to help him get back to the resistance base.

Rey switched her gaze towards the scrubbing station and froze.

"Oh no." she panted. Panicking, Rey ran over to Finn and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the scrubbing station.

"I found him!" she said. "But, we have to hurry."

"Why?!" Finn asked, running after her.

"He's with another scavenger, who isn't exactly the nicest person in galaxy. But, it's not him i'm worried about."

"Then who are you worried about?!"

Rey snapped her head to a black droid, racing across the outpost, heading straight for the scrubbing station. "His droid."

* * *

BB-8 rolled away from the two, head down. His best friend was gone. He would never see Poe again. He knew that coming on this mission was dangerous, Poe was the best pilot in the resistance, so it was only logical that they'd send him and not someone else. But, Poe had promised he'd come back. BB let out another low moan in grief for his friend.

Movement caught his mechanical eye. Moving his dome-shaped head back to the top of his round body, BB-8 stared forward and was surprised at what he saw. It was another BB-Unit! And it was First Order! BB was getting ready to roll at full-speed at the other droid, when he stopped and watched as the First Order droid picked up a stray bolt from the sand and rolled away with it. Curious, BB-8 followed the droid, keeping himself at a safe distance as to not get caught. He continued to tail the droid to stand where a few scavenger were sitting at a long table scrubbing away at old parts, and watched as the First Order unit rolled over to one sitting at the end of the table.

BB perked up at the sight of the scavenger. He looked familiar. Staying where he was BB stared intently as the man conversed with the droid, patting it on the head before it raced off somewhere. But, BB no longer cared for it, as he kept his eye on the man. Zooming in on the mans face, the resistance unit analysed the scavenger features. He had messy black hair, brown eyes and a nose that a little on the big side. BB instantly knew who he was, even though he hadn't seen him in over fifteen years, BB would never forget his face.

Racing over to the man at the scrubbing station, BB-8 couldn't believe his luck! Ben Solo, his old friend, was alive! He needed to get him to the resistance. The droid stopped when he reached the man and quietly rolled behind him. Not wanting to wait for any longer, BB-8 released a few beeps, catching Ben's attention.

Ben turned around "Find something else alre-"

The scavenger froze at the sight of BB-8. They both stared at each other, neither one turning away, staying this way for half a minute, before Ben decided to break the silence.

"BB-8?" he whispered as he tucked the part he was cleaning into his satchel. "Is that really you?"

The droid squealed in delight and rushed forward to nudge up against Ben's legs.

"W-what you are doing here?" he stuttered.

BB answered him with a series of beeps.

"A mission?"  _Oh no._ Ben really couldn't catch a break. "Well, keep me out of it." he ordered.

The droid moved in front of him and protested at that statement and released a string of angry beeps.

"While that is heart-warming, it will still not change my mind. I want nothing to do with it."

Just before BB-8 could say anything else, the orange and white droid was rammed into by a black blur. BB-8 rolled to side, shaking off the dizziness from the impact he angled his head to look at his assailant. To his surprise, it was the First Order BB-unit he saw earlier. It hissed and revved up for another attack when Ben stuck his leg out in front of it, stopping it in its tracks.

"That's enough, Sphero. He's not a threat."

The black BB-unit glanced a look at Ben before hissing again at BB and rolled closer the scavenger.

"BB-8!" Rey's voice called, as she and Finn ran up to them. They stopped when they saw Ben, who stood up, giving BB-8 full view of his right arm, or lack thereof.

"Kylo." said Rey, standing tense.

"Rey," Ben copied. "Lost something?"

"Not lost anymore."

"You should take care of your things better." mocked Ben. "Things are easily lost on Jakku."

Rey glared at Ben, her eyes never leaving his. "Come on, BB-8. Let's go."

But, the droid only beeped, not moving from his spot, making Rey stare at him in confusion. "What do mean you're not leaving without him? You know each other?"

"No!" Ben cut in before BB could reply.

Finn, who was standing to the side, silent kept his gaze on the new scavenger. He was a pretty intimidating man and Finn couldn't help but feel a little scared of him. But, what caught his eyes was his missing right arm. A memory of Poe went through his head again. Poe didn't just come back for his droid, he came back to look for a scavenger with one arm.

Gathering up his courage, he finally spoke. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Ben, would you?"

A second later, Finn found himself cornered against the scrubbing table with a metal baton pressed up to his throat, while Rey and BB were being blocked by Sphero.

"How do you know who i am?" Ben hissed.

Finn, angered by today's events, roughly pushed the baton away and answered: "I don't know you are. All i know is that you're important to the resistance, and Poe Dameron was going to look for you."

"You know Poe Dameron?" Ben stepped back, calming down.

"Yes, i helped him escape form the First Order, but we crash-landed here. Poe didn't make it."

At those words, Ben shut his eyes and let out a sad sigh. "That's unfortunate," he said "he was a good pilot."

Loud alerting beeps interrupted their conversation and Ben, Finn and Rey all looked down to the two droids. Both of them were whistling alarmingly and beeping wildly. Noticing the tone of the beeps as a sign for trouble, Ben shifted his gaze to where the droids were indicating and swore. One of Unkar's thugs was talking to two Stormtroopers, pointing straight at them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.
> 
> Apologies for the mistakes and my crappy writing.

"What are you doing?" Both Ben Rey demanded as Finn suddenly grabbed his and her hands and ran, dragging the along with him.

"Come on!" Finn urged.

The two Stormtroopers who were talking with the thugs noticed them, aiming their blasters and shooting at the fleeing culprits. Running through the markets, ducking their heads from the oncoming attacks, the three of them and the droids following, kept racing ahead through the gauntlet, as people screamed and ran past them, avoiding the conflict and taking cover wherever they could find.

"Let go of me!" Ben yelled, forcefully wrenching his hand from Finn's grip, while Rey was still trying to tug her hand out.

"Come on, we go to move!" Finn kept pulling Rey along, ignoring her protests.

"I know how to run without you holding my hand!" she growled as she finally freed herself.

They kept running, passing markets stalls with products that were being destroyed from the blaster lasers. Ben shielded his face with his arm as a laser hit a lantern, sending glass shards towards his face. But, he continued to sprint, just behind the other two.

"BB-8, stay close!" Rey called. "This way!" They turned a corner, Rey taking lead.

The Stormtroopers pushed people away as they came to small clearing in the market. "Call in the air strike." one ordered.

Rey, Finn, Ben and the two droids rushed, breathing heavily until they darted into a tent where Finn instantly started to look for anything that could be used as a weapon, rifling through a bench cluttered with tools and parts, while Rey clutched a support pole, catching her breath, and Ben stayed near the entrance of the tent keeping a lookout.

"They're shooting at all of us!" Rey realised.

"Yeah. They saw you guys with me. You're marked." Finn replied as he kept searching.

"Well, thanks for that." Ben sarcastically shot, as Sphero, next to him, beeped angrily in unison.

"Hey! She's the one who chased me down with a stick. Does anyone have blasters around here!"

Rolling her eyes at the comment, she ignored Finn and walked over to BB-8, crouching down to his level. "Are you okay?" she asked.

The droid beeped in reply, stating that he was.

"Shhh!" Ben suddenly hissed, alerting everyone to his direction. He called for silence by placing a finger in front of his mouth before moving his hand behind his ear, prompting them to listen. A faint roaring in the distance grew louder by the second. Taking a look outside, Ben's eyes widened and he harshly swore in Huttese. Immediately recognising the sound, Finn grabbed Rey's hand again and pulled her out of the tent.

"Stop taking my hand!"

Racing out, they all looked up just in time to see three Tie-fighters coming in. The first passed over them, while the second fired a laser shot just in front of the group, stopping them in their tracks. Shifting their gazes up again, they could see the third Tie-fighter coming in, firing a laser bolt directly at them.

Time slowed down for Ben, and he suddenly felt the familiar call from inside him. From all around him. Without thinking it, he raised his only arm up in the path of the bolt. Clearing his mind and centering himself, Ben summoned the power that had slept within him for over a decade, and concentrated on the incoming blast. Narrowing his eyes and clawing his fingers, he stopped the bolt in mid-air.

Both Finn and Rey gaped in awe at this spectacle. Before them they were witnessing something that should have been impossible. The watched, stunned, as Ben angled the laser bolt to one of the fighters. His arm was strained, face scrunched up in concentration and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. When he fighter came into range, he pushed the bolt to it, letting it go. The shot struck true, hitting the craft and exploding into pieces.

Ben let his arm fall to his side, his legs shaking in exhaustion as he panted heavily. Catching his breath, he looked up to where Finn and Rey stood shocked, along with BB and Sphero who would probably hold the same expression as them if they could.

He rolled his eyes at them "Don't just stand there gawking! We got-" he was cut off by another Tie-fighter that came around and fired a bolt, blowing up the tent they were just in. The explosion threw them all off their feet, pushing them back. Landing roughly on the sand, Ben groaned in pain before turning over and forced himself to stand. Blinking the sand and smoke out of his eyes, he spotted Rey lying on the ground not moving. Rushing over, he flipped Rey onto her back and checked her heartbeat. It was still going strong. He then placed his hand to cover her forehead and called upon the force again.

"Hey! She alright!?"

Ben turned to see Finn getting back up on his feet and heading over to them, as well as Sphero and BB-8.

"She's fine! Just unconscious." Ben answered.

The two of them, plus the droids looked to the sky and saw the remaining fighters circling around, knowing they were coming in for another strike. Thinking, Ben quickly began to put together a plan.

"Carry her!" he ordered. "And follow me!"

With no time to argue or question him, Finn obeyed and hoisted Rey over his shoulder and picked up her staff. Sphero rolled past him, beeping cheekily. Finn couldn't understand what the droid was saying but he could take a guess. They ran out into the open shipyard, exiting the market as the Tie-fighters and Stormtroopers continued to fire at them.

"We can't outrun them!" Finn panted.

"We might! In that Quadjumper!" Ben exclaimed, indicating to the ship ahead of them.

Finn shifted Rey on his shoulder "We need a pilot!"

"We've got one!"

"You?!" Seeing that the Quadjumper was a bit far, Finn spotted a closer one to the right of them. "What about that one?!" he pointed.

Ben took a quick glance and instantly rejected the idea. "No! That's a piece of junk!"

As they raced closer towards the ship, a Tie-fighter flew overhead and did not hesitate to fire and blow the ship up. Halting, Ben, Finn, BB-8 and Sphero stared at the now destroyed ship. Seeing no choice, Ben made the split-second decision.

"The junk will do!"

Changing their path, the four of them (and Rey over Finn's shoulder) dashed to the YT-1300 light freighter. A ship that Ben never wanted to get on again. The freighter had a saucer-like shape with two large mandibles attached to the front of it, and an exposed side-mounted cockpit. It had been sitting in the shipyard for years, wasting away. When Ben first saw it, he had felt the dimmest light of hope spark within him, but the original owner didn't come for it. Extinguishing that spark.

Succeeding in getting there, without being blown up, and running up the ramp, Ben made his way to he cockpit.

"Gunner's positions are down there." he directed.

"What about her?!" Finn asked, shifting Rey on his shoulder again.

"I'll take her," Ben said, as Finn passed Rey over. "Get down to the turrets."

Doing as instructed, Finn climbed down the ladder and dropped into a worn-out seat. "You ever flown this thing before?"

"Yes! But, a very long time ago! And this ship hasn't flown in years!" Ben yelled back in reply as he strapped Rey in the co-pilot seat.

"Great." Finn whispered

He pressed a button on the side of the controller to start up the turret before his seat unexpectedly swerved to the left, the turret outside copying by moving in the opposite direction. Never having handled these controls before, Finn tried to calm himself.

"I can do this, i can do this." he chanted, fiddling with the monitor.

Back up in the cockpit, Ben was seated in the pilots chair pressing buttons and and flipping switches, he whispered the same chant as Finn- "I can do this, i can do this."

Despite having a natural ability for piloting, he found himself struggling and tried to remember recall past teachings he received from his father so many years ago. He was only six years old when his father first taught him the controls and functions of the ship, he had caught on quickly. But, all that stopped when he was seven, there were no more lessons, and he never saw his father again. Deciding not to dwell on past memories he shook the memory from his mind and got back to the task at hand.

Pressing a few more buttons, he finally got the engines started up, blowing off the tarp that covered it as the Tie-fighters let out another round of shots. Continuing to mash buttons, Ben got the ship to hover shakily over the ground and just missing the fighters lasers. However, the ship suddenly tilted to the side, slamming the cockpit pod into a small structure.

"AHHH!" Ben yelped.

The edge of the ship scraped against the sandy ground and the mandibles of the freighter smashed into the red arch of Niima Outpost, reducing it to rubble. Ben let out an uncaring "whoops" and stabilised the ship, flying over the collapsed arch. He looked outside just in time to see Unkar run out of his station, waving his hands in the air; Ben could only guess the outraged yells the Junk Boss was spewing.

Zooming past the border of the outpost and up to the sky, Ben tried to make it off the planet to engage the hyperdrive (assuming it was working this time). Climbing higher, Ben was about to punch in a destination before he heard Finn yell,

"Wait! Stay low! Stay low!" the ex-stormtrooper put on a headset that connected to the cockpit.

"What?!"

"Stay low! It confuses their tracking!"

Fiddling with the console switches Ben took Finn's advice. "Sphero! BB-8! Hold on! I'm going low!"

Pulling back the control sticks, the ship looped backwards. Sphero was in the corridor with BB-8 and immediately followed his masters orders. Aiming at the floor, he shot out metal cables from his compartments and firmly pressed himself against the floor. Whereas, BB-8 didn't and rolled up the wall, as the ship looped, and slammed down to the floor as the freighter straightened out, low over the desert plains.

The two fighters chased after them, firing lasers. One shot was able to hit the underbelly of the ship, near the turret. Finn yelped as he felt the force of the blast.

"What are you doing back there?! Are you ever going to fire back?!" Ben snapped.

"I'm working on it." Finn defended. "Are the shields up?!"

Ben took a quick glance at the other side of the cockpit. The switch for the shield was there, on his  _right_ side. And he didn't have a right arm. Kriff. "This would be easier if i had a co-pilot! And another arm!" he shouted. Taking a risk he let go of the control stick and attempted to reach over Rey, who was still knocked out, and flip the switch. He was a few inches away before the ship suddenly lurched, the belly skidding along the sand. Heart in his mouth, Ben instantly grabbed the control stick, cursing in every language he knew, and pulling up to level out again. He could really use some help right about now.

As if answering his prayers. Rey groaned.

She blinked her eyes open. The first thing that reached her was the noise, there was loud blasts and booms coming from somewhere, and someone was cursing in many languages, most of them she didn't know. Trying to clear the blurriness in her eyes, she squinted to make out where she was, but gasped when she felt all her surroundings rattle.

"About time you woke up!" a deep voice next to her cut in.

Snapping her head to the left, Rey saw Ben sitting next her, his expression a mix a of concentration and irritation. Looking around, Rey realised she was in the cockpit of a ship, that Ben was flying. But, what stunned her was that she recognised which ship she was on.

"Turn on the shields!" Ben yelled.

"What?!" Rey asked, perplexed.

"The switch for the shields, it's right next to you! Turn them on!"

While she was still confused about the situation, Rey numbly did what she was told.

"Shields are up!" Ben called.

A few seconds after, Rey heard the sounds of more shots, she assumed it was from the turret below. Looking back at Ben, she could see him sweating nervously as he flew the ship, his one hand tightly gripping the control sticks, occasionally leaving it to press a few buttons.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Long story short," Ben grunted. "We stole a ship and are now trying to not get killed and get out of here."

"And you had to steal this piece of garbage?!"

"It wasn't our first choice! They blew up the Quadjumper we were aiming for." A small explosion sounded behind them. "Dammit!"

Ben looked over his shoulder and saw that one of the consoles behind him had its wires hanging out, exposed and sparking, if he didn't do something about soon then it'd take the ship down before the Tie-fighters. "Take over!" he told Rey, as he unbuckled his seat-belt.

Rey couldn't get a word in as he let go of the controls and slid out of his seat, leaving no choice but for Rey to stretch out and take them. Unbuckling herself from the co-pilots seat to the one Ben just vacated. "What are doing?!"

"If we don't fix this, we'll be dead before those Tie-fighters can kill us." Ben explained as bent down next to the console. "You're a pilot, right? You need to get us out of here."

"I don't  _need_  to do anything!" Rey argued. "Since you guys practically kidnapped me!"

"It was either 'kidnap' you or leave you to die, or worse get taken by the First Order to be tortured for information!"

Rey was about to say something back, before she was interrupted.

"We need cover quick!" Finn yelled from below.

"We're about to get some!" Ben replied as he surveyed the damage of the console. "Head to the wrecks! we should be able to lose them there."

Though the idea sounded crazy, Rey knew this was probably their last chance; so, without protesting, she turned the ship into a hard right, the edge scrapping on the ground, and aimed for the Star-Destroyer wrecks. Flying through the rib-cages of rotting ships and past the skeletons of Destroyers, Rey weaved the ship sporadically, twisting and turning. In the corridor, BB-8 once again rolled up the side of the walls and up to the roof before dropping, but this time he shot of his own cables, connecting to the walls, keeping him still in mid-air.

Ben pulled out the wires, he ripped from the wreckage's earlier today, from his satchel. Taking a particular few and shoving the rest back in his bag. Reattaching wires wasn't going to easy with one arm, and Rey's flying certainly wasn't helping. "Sphero! I'm gonna need your help with this!" he called.

Hearing his master, the black BB-unit retracted his cables, detaching from the floor and mad his way to Ben. Rolling into the cockpit, Sphero attached himself to the floor again and started helping Ben with the wires.

Finn kept his eyes on the aiming monitor in front of him. He's never used these controls before; while having Poe's help with the Tie-fighter helped with experience, this was much more different. This was nothing like the Tie-fighter. He swerved side to side, aiming up and down, pressing the triggers and firing back. He aimed up as the ship dived over a wreck before straightening out, but as Finn focused he missed an incoming shot that hit the side of the engine. The shock of the hit reached the cockpit as Rey yelped at the impact and Ben's head smacked against the console, cutting it. Rey had never heard so many curse words before.

The freighter was then cornered by the fighters and made to keep going straight towards the Destroyer skeleton. Acting quickly, Rey pulled up a lever making the engine whir, and banked a hard left, just dodging the wreck, and the two fighters separated; one heading into the hollow destroyer and the other continued to follow them.

"Come on, come on." Finn groaned.

He stared hard at the screen and watched as the digital ship came into the circle and wasted no time firing. The lasers hit the intended target and clipped the fighters wing, making it spiral out of control and crashing into the sand where a group of scavengers descended on it with cries of joy.

"Nice shot!" Rey complimented.

"I'm getting pretty good at this" Finn smiled.

But, the cheerful moment didn't last as the Tie-fighter that got separated suddenly appeared. It followed closely, occasionally zig-zagging to keep out of Finn's shooting range, and kept firing incessantly. It paid off as a laser hit Finn's turret, disabling its movement.

From inside the gunner position, Finn jiggled the controls to try and move the gun, but it only made a sputtering noise and stayed.

"The cannon's stuck in forward position. I can't move it. You gotta lose him." Finn reported.

Rey took a moment to think and absorb the information. Ben was still fixing the console so it didn't blow up in their faces, so he was no help. Their weapons movement was disabled and the fighter was closing in. But, while the cannon couldn't move, that did not mean it couldn't shoot. Looking out the window, Rey stared at the wreckage of a Star-destroyers body that was still somewhat standing. A crazy idea came into her head.

"Get ready!" she called to Finn.

"Ok," he replied. "For what?"

She didn't answer him as she turned the ship to the right. Speeding past the other wrecks Rey came up to the Destroyers engine, looped back and shot in.

Finn peered out the window. "Are we really doing this?!"

Rey tilted and turned the ship as they squeezed through the hollow tunnel, journeying further into the ship carcass. "Done!" Ben announced as he slammed the console shut and plopped into the co-pilot seat.

"You sure about this?" he asked Rey.

"No." she answered.

The freighter continued onward, dodging the lasers of the Tie-fighter and metal support pipes that kept the wreck intact. One laser from the fighter blasted a pipe ahead of them, making in burst out in flames. Rey yelped and ducked her head as they flew through it.

"Oh no." she gulped as the tunnel became tighter and the angle shifted. Turning the ship to horizontal to fit, both Ben and Rey realised that they were sitting ducks if they didn't get out of here. Seeing an exit ahead, Rey pulled the control stick to right, banking hard, and shot out, just before the fighter could fire another laser. The fighter followed them out, one again shooting incessantly.

Rey dived the ship before going back up and pulling lever down, killing the engine. Falling, the ship flipped so the cannon faced the sky. Finn's eyes lit up as he got full view of the fighter chasing them. Glancing at the monitor, he saw that the target was locked on and didn't hesitate firing. The shot struck true, and the fighter exploded. Rey started the engine up just before the ship could hit the ground, returning it to its normal position and flying up for the sky.

Finn whooped from below and Rey laughed as she set the autopilot. She clambered out of her seat and raced into the ship meet up with Finn. Ben, however, stayed where he was, a blank expression on his face. Sphero beeped worriedly behind him, but he payed no attention. He had felt something, a disturbance in the force. It was almost impossible for it to happen.

There had been an awakening.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!
> 
> Apologies for any mistakes and my crappy writing. I really didn't think this chapter through, and didn't bother editing.

BB-8 whirred tiredly, retracting his cables and let himself fall to the floor, as Finn climbed out of the cannon and Rey ran out of the cockpit, meeting each other, filled to the brim with excitement.

"Nice shooting."

"Now that was some flying."

They spoke at the same time, but that didn't faze them as they kept talking and began circling with BB following.

"Thanks" said Rey

"How did you do that?" Finn asked.

"I don't know"

"No one trained you?"

"I've flown some ships, but I've never left the planet. Your last shot was dead on."

"That was amazing"

"You got him in one shot."

"You set me up for it."

"It was perfect."

"That was pretty good."

Both of them were smiling so much their cheeks ached. Rey couldn't remember a time when she smiled like this, and Finn had never experienced it before. Looking at one another, they both reflected each others joy. Their moment was interrupted when BB-8 released a few curious beeps.

Rey knelt down next to him. "You're okay," she stated. "He's with the resistance."

The droid took a quick, uncertain, glance at Finn. He didn't know him until today, had never seen him around the base before. Maybe he was a new guy? Recent recruit?

"He's going to get you home. We both will." Rey continued, trying to sooth BB's uneasiness. Standing back up, she turned to Finn. "I don't know your name."

"Finn," he answered. "What's yours?"

"I'm Rey."

"Rey-" Finn started, but was cut himself off as Ben walked out of the cockpit and into the corridor, Sphero close behind. The ex-stormtrooper stared and it caught Rey's attention as she turned around to face the one-armed man. No one spoke, just stared. The air was so tense, it could've been cut through with a knife. Finn was weary of Ben. He held a dark aura around him and seemed to scare everyone away with just a single look.

He was curious to as why Poe was so intent on finding him, and he found the answer when Ben pulled off that stunt in the market place. He had seen that power before on the night at the village, when Caedus Ren had stopped the bolt in mid-air. Ben shared the same the power Ren has. And that was a good enough reason to cautious of him. There was also the fact that his droid was covered in First Order markings, and that was just the icing on the cake.

Rey was the first to speak.

"So, its Ben? Not Kylo?"

Ben was quiet for a moment, contemplating whether he should tell the truth or not. So far, these two have been trustworthy. He nodded as an answer to Rey's question.

"Then, why go by 'Kylo'?"

"It's best not to use your real name when you're hiding."

Growing curious, Rey continued her questioning. "From who?"

Before Ben could tell her to mind her own business, a sudden loud crash caught their focus. White gas was pouring out of a floor grate in the main room, steaming into the air like a geyser. The alarms blared and Ben wasted no time in running over to the grate. He didn't risk exposing his identity to just die of poisonous gas on a ship he hates.

"Don't just stand there! Help me with this!" he called.

Rey and Finn were instantly by his side, grabbing the heavy grate, lifting it up and sliding it away, before Ben jumped in, followed by Rey.

* * *

Aboard the Finalizer, orbiting Jakku, Caedus Ren scanned through a datapad, golden eyes analysing the information on the screen. He was due for a meeting with the Supreme Leader soon; wanting an update on the location of the map. Luke Skywalker had been missing for the past fifteen years, hiding from the First order, leaving no clue as to where he went, except the map.  _'What a coward'_ Caedus thought, the old man had turned tail and ran, abandoning his family, leaving the resistance to fight a losing battle.

However, there was always the thought that Skywalker could return, and his master couldn't risk that. So, at the Snoke's order, he searched the galaxy, chasing every rumor and following every lead, until he finally found it. But, it was incomplete. The map they recovered was only one piece, while it showed the majority, there was still another section they had yet to retrieve, and the Supreme Leader made it the number one priority.

Swiping the screen of the datapad, he came across a medical file he hadn't seen in years. Ren didn't have to read the name to know whose file it was, the picture said it all. A bleak, pale skinned, teenage boy stood shirtless covered in large purple bruises and angry red cuts, his black hair falling messily over his face. Ben Solo. It had been twelve years since Caedus last saw him. He had somehow escaped from the First Order and disappeared into the galaxy; all this time Ren and Snoke thought that Ben had returned to his parents, but it was surprising to find out that he was on Jakku of all places. Ren could still remember Solo's screams.

But, before the Sith could reminisce, Lieutenant Mitaka entered the room.

"Sir, we were unable to acquire the droid on Jakku." the young man shakily reported.

Caedus didn't have to use the force to know that the officer was afraid. He could practically smell his fear. And he had every right to fear him. Setting the datapad down on a nearby console, Ren slowly turned his head to Mitaka, taking great pleasure in intimidating him.

"It escaped capture," Mitaka continued. "on a stolen Corellian YT-model freighter."

"The droid...stole a freighter?" Ren asked, huffing in contempt.

"Not exactly, Sir. It had help. We have no confirmation, but we believe that FN-2187 helped in the escape-"

Mitaka stopped his explanation as Ren ignited a red lightsaber and held it up next to his cheek. The saber crackled loudly in his ear, the Lieutenant could feel the searing heat radiating off it. He knew giving bad news to the Sith was a bad idea, but he did have a job to do.

Ren cocked his head to one side. "Anything else?"

Mitaka gulped. "The two were accompanied by a girl."

"What girl?" Caedus growled.

"A scavenger. She helped them." the officer gasped as the saber leaned closer to his cheek; a small red burn forming.

"And what of the  _one-armed_  scavenger? Were you able to find him?"

"The reports show that he was with the group, aiding their escape."

Ren went silent. He slowly lowered his saber, but didn't turn it off. With his shoulders hunched, the Sith turned back around to the computer consoles behind him. Caedus took a quick glance at the picture of Ben on datapad, he was suddenly overcome by anger. Swinging his lightsaber, Ren sliced at the consoles, like a hot knife through butter, leaving glowing scorch marks.

"FIND THEM!" Ren screamed as he turned back to Mitaka. "GET THE MAP AND THE SCAVENGER! NOW!

* * *

"Its the motivator." Ben said to Rey as he switched off the alarm. "It's failing and there's a part missing. I got something to replace it, but i'll need some help. Get a Harris wrench." He dug through his satchel while instructing Rey and pulled out the Hyperdrive part he scavenged.

Rey nodded and poked her head out of the small pit. "We need a Harris wrench. Check in there." She instructed, pointing at a tool kit behind Finn.

"How bad is it?" he asked, rummaging through the tools.

"If we want to live, not good." Ben called from below, coughing a bit from the gas. Sphero beeped worriedly from next to BB; the gas was pouring everywhere, and getting hard to breathe. Ben pulled up his scarf to cover his nose and mouth as he reached back into the motivator to look for any more problems.

"They're hunting for us now. We gotta get out of this system." Finn stated as he continued to fumble around the boxes.

"BB-8 said the location of the Resistance base is 'need to know'. If i'm taking you there, i need to know!"

"This?" Finn asked as he tossed a tool over to Rey. She nodded and ducked back under to help Ben. Once she was gone, Finn gestured to BB to come over. "You gotta tell us where your base is."

BB-8 beeped in answer.

"I don't speak that." He looked back at the pit, checking that Rey and Ben weren't listening; but he noticed that Ben's droid was. "Look, between us...i'm not with the Resistance, okay?"

The orange and white droid rolled back away from him, while the black droid got closer and pulled out his taser.

"I'm just trying to get away from the First Order," he explained hastily, not wanting to be zapped. "But, if you tell us where your base is, i'll get you there first." Finn proposed. "Deal?"

BB-8 and Sphero merely looked at him, in what Finn could only guess was suspicion. He couldn't blame the droid, but his paranoia of being captured and killed, or worse reconditioned, always won.

"Droid please!" he begged.

Rey's head came back up. "Pilex driver! Hurry!" Finn's head snapped to her before going back to searching, and Sphero quickly hid the taser. "So, where's your base?" she asked unaware of their conversation.

"Go on, BB-8, tell her." prodded Finn.

The droid looked up at him, then down at Rey, switching his gazes repeatedly between the two.

"Please" Finn mouthed desperately.

After Finn's confession, BB was skeptical of him. He had lied about being part of the Resistance. But he had shot down the fighters that chased them, so that confirmed he wasn't a friend of the First Order. Rey had proven trustworthy, she defended and protected him from the other scavengers and Junk Boss and let him stay with her. And Ben...BB had to get him back to base. He had been missing for fifteen years and he knew that the First Order would be looking for his old friend. He had to keep him and the map safe.

BB-8 turned to Sphero and whistled out a version of binary Rey didn't understand, trying to convince the other to keep quiet about this. It took a bit of prodding, but the Resistance droid knew Sphero was protective of Ben and eventually got him to agree.

Looking to Rey, he beeped out the location for the base.

"The Ileenium system?" Rey confirmed.

"Yeah, the Ileenium system, that's the one." The ex-stormtrooper played along as he chucked the tool to Rey. "Get us there as fast as you can." Finn gave BB-8 a thumbs-up, which both droids copied by flicking on their lighters.

"I'll drop you off at Ponemah Terminal." Rey said, coming up again. "Bonding tape, hurry!"

"What about you?" Finn asked grabbing a roll of silver tape.

"I've gotta get back to Jakku." Rey answered in an obvious tone.

Finn snapped. "Back to Jak- Why does everyone wanna go back to Jakku? That place is..."

"It's not that one." she said, referring to the tape in Finn's hand and pointed to the right tape lying on the floor.

Confused and disorientated, Finn picked up a random roll.

"No, the one i'm pointing to." He picked up another one, missing BB-8 rolling over to the correct one. "No, no!"

"If we don't patch this up, the propulsion tank will overflow, and flood the ship with poisonous gas."

"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF-!" Ben yelled coming up, and reached out his hand, calling a bright yellow roll of tape to him. Catching it in his hand, he duck back under to continue fixing the motivator.

Rey and Finn stood still in shock, that was the second time Ben showed them his mysterious power. Rey had never seen anything like it before, but Finn had, and didn't want dwell on it.

"Rey," he said getting her attention. "You're a pilot. You can fly anywhere. Why go back? You got a family?" he questioned. "Got a boyfriend? Cute boyfriend?"

"None of your business that's why." Rey blew him off, before diverting back to Ben.

"How'd you do that?" she demanded.

"Do what?" Ben retorted, pretending to not know what she was talking about.

"That thing just then with the tape. And you did it before back at Niima Outpost." She bent down next to him. "You froze a laser bolt in mid-air and shot it back at them. How? Are you a Jedi?"

"Not even close." Ben grumbled. "And like you said before; 'none of your business'."

Just as soon as he finished that sentence, all the lights on the ship dimmed out, shrouding the interior in darkness, only leaving the red emergency lights on. They all looked up, wondering what was going on.

"That can't be good." Finn whispered.

"No it can't be." Rey agreed as she and Ben climbed out of the compartment and ran into the cockpit. Rey and Finn seated themselves in the front seats while Ben stood behind them. Rey was pressing a few buttons, trying to get anything to work, but nothing did.

"Someone's locked onto us. Controls are overridden." she announced.

A loud clanking from overhead startled them, causing them to look up with panicked expressions. Something was happening but they didn't know what. Looking at each other, Finn got up and stood up on the co-pilots chair and stepping carefully on the console, while grabbing Rey's shoulder then head as leverage.

"Get off, get off!" she batted his hand away.

A bright red light slowly covered them as Finn tried to look through the window. "See anything?" Rey asked.

Finn gasped as he watched a giant Baleen-class freighter loom outside. It opened its large, mouth-like shield door and swallowed their ship, collecting them.

"Its the First Order." Finn panted.

"What do we do?"

Finn turned to Rey. "You said poisonous gas."

"We fixed that." Ben said.

"Can you unfix it?"

Getting the idea, they all rushed back to the motivator, snatching up some oxygen masks along the way.

"Come on, BB-8" Rey called as Finn jumped in the compartment. Rolling over to her, Rey held BB and handed him to Finn.

"I got him." Finn said, before toppling over from the droids weight. "I'm okay." he croaked. Ben got in next, followed by Sphero who used his cables to lower himself down, and finally Rey. It was a tight fit, by they managed. As Rey was pulling the grate over to cover the compartment, Ben began working on the motivator.

"Do you think this will work on the Stormtroopers?"

"Yeah. Their masks filter out smoke, not toxins." Finn replied.

Rey was just placing the grate in place when loud creaking and thudding from outside of the entrance door gradually came closer.

"Hurry!" she urged.

"I'm hurrying." Ben worked faster.

Rey recognised the sound of the door being overridden and the locks turning, and dropped the grate in place as the door slid up.

* * *

Han Solo and Chewbacca stepped through the door, weapons ready to fire. They had picked up the ship on their scanners and didn't waste a second in retrieving it. It had been years since they last saw it and now they had it back. But, it was obvious someone was on it.

"Chewie," Han grinned. "We're home."

The Wookie roared lightly in agreement.

Signalling to keep an eye out, they ventured in further, weapons still at the ready. Han went over to a console on the wall, inspecting it and pushing a few buttons, listening to it whir, while Chewie checked the main room.

Their guards went up when they heard clattering sounds from one of the smuggling compartments. Chewie pulled the grate off in one fast motion while Han fully ready to shoot. But, he freezes when he sees who it is.

"Ben?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!
> 
> Apologies for the delay of this chapter. Was in a slump for what, and how to, write this chapter.
> 
> Don't like, don't read, don't hate.

Han Solo could only stare at the sight before him.

It was almost impossible to believe what was right in front of his eyes.

Down below in the compartment, next to the ships motivator, were three people and two droids; however, only one person caught his attention. He didn't, couldn't, take his eyes off the one that had been fiddling with the motivator. It had been over twenty since Han last saw him, his son.

His son was alive!

The old smuggler took in Ben's appearance. The boy-  _no_ , man, looked like he had seen better days; he was pale and had messy black hair that covered his face, with dark bags under his eyes. Brown eyes, his His face was stained with grime and scratches, and a cut on his temple was caked in dried blood. His clothes were tattered and sand-stained, and a pair of goggles rest on top of his head. But, what shocked Han the most was Ben's right arm.

It was gone.

From what he could tell, the shoulder was still there, but the arm that was supposed to be attached to it was nowhere to be found.

Still full of shock, Han could only utter out one word.

"Ben?"

"You gotta be kidding me." Ben muttered with a scorn, as he took off his oxygen mask.

Chewie let out a long roar, overwhelmed with joy and relief, and set the grate on the floor. The Wookie reached in and grabbed Ben, despite his protests, and scooped him up and out of the compartment pulling him close, hugging tight.

Ben was never one for hugs. He never really received any affection since he was a child. And even then it wasn't a lot. The last slice of affection he could remember was when he mother said 'goodbye' shortly after she sent him away, a kiss on the forehead and hug was all he got. He didn't hug back. Just like now, he didn't hug Chewbacca back.

Having grown up in an environment where he was taught to push away his emotions as they were unnecessary and would get in the way. So, he relied on the times when he could be alone and let out his frustrations about his teachings, unable to keep his feeling in check. But, he soon became grateful for those teachings as they would become the very thing has kept him alive throughout the years.

Ben was brought back to the present when he felt Chewie reluctantly let go of him. Taking a deep breath, he turned around to face the man he gave up hope on ever seeing again. If Ben could fold his arms, he would.

"Ben." Han breathed as a smile grew on his face. He took a step toward Ben, but the other merely took a step back. And the smile fell from the old smugglers face.

"It's been a while." Han tried.

The black-haired scavenger wanted to slap him. After all this time and that's all the old man had to say?

"Twenty-three years, to be exact." Ben stated tightly. Keeping his expression schooled and blank.

Down in the compartment Finn and Rey looked at each other confused. Ben knew this man and Wookie?

Han was never one to be sentimental. He would keep to himself, not caring for anyone (except Chewie) and run from his problems. He still stuck to his old ways of being a soulless, manipulative smuggler, especially after him and Leia went separate ways. But, he could remember times when he openly expressed emotions of tenderness. When he and Leia kissed on the Falcon, when he got Married to her, when Leia announced she was pregnant...when Ben was born. Han would never forget the day he held his son in his arms for the first time.

And the last time.

The old smuggler could understand why Ben didn't want to have interaction with him. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, and Han didn't, couldn't, blame his son. He wanted to say his son looked well, but honestly, he didn't, and he couldn't help but keep casting a look at Ben's absent arm.

"Your arm..." Han whispered.

Ben didn't answer back; he just shifted a hesitant gaze his right shoulder, then looked away.

"What happened?"

"Why do you care?" Ben retorted, still not looking at Han.

"'Why do i care?' Ben, i'm your father, of course i care."

Ben's eyes darkened as they shot up to meet his father's. "You haven't been my father for a very long time." With

Han Solo's could only stand there as he took in those words. He knew he wasn't the best dad in the galaxy, but it still stung.

The sound of someone clearing their throat sliced through the thick tension in the air. Snapping his head to the motivator compartment, Han saw the other two people that had accompanied his son. One was a dark-skinned man wearing black clothing and a brown leather jacket, and next to him was a girl, no older than twenty, with her hair tied back in three buns. They both were flecked with grime and were coated in a thin sheet of sweat. They both wore expressions of confusion as they witnessed the tight interaction between father and son.

"Its only you three? Who's the pilot?" Han asked.

"I'm the pilot!" the girl quickly replied.

"You?!"

Chewie roared, bringing up his crossbow and aiming it threateningly at them.

"No, it's true!" she argued.

"You can understand that thing?" the man exclaimed.

"Yeah, and that thing can understand you, so watch it." Han let out an annoyed sigh. "Come on, get out of there."

Rey and Finn scrambled out and stood in front of the old smuggler.

"Where'd you get this ship?"

"Niima Outpost." Rey said.

"Jakku?! That junkyard?"

"Thank you!" Finn cheered then whispered to Rey, "Junkyard."

"Told you we should've double checked the Western Regions." Han said to Chewie. "Who had it? Ducain?"

"I stole it." Ben spoke up. "From Unkar Plutt, who stole from the Irving Boys, who stole it from Ducain."

"Who stole it from me. Well, you tell him that Han Solo just stole back the Millennium Falcon, for good." he stated as began to walk down the corridor.

"This is the Millennium Falcon?!" Rey marvelled. "You're Han Solo!"

Han flipped the cover of conduct unit up and faced Rey. "I used to be." And walked off.

"Han Solo, the Rebellion General?" Finn wondered.

"No, the smuggler."

"Wasn't he a war hero?" he asked Chewie, who responded in with a shrug.

Rey's eyes filled with excitement. She had heard stories of the famous smuggler, Han Solo. Now, she was on his ship with the man himself. "This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in 14 parsecs." she beamed.

"Twelve!" Han called back, "fourteen." he grumbled as he stomped his way into the cockpit. He slowly stepped into the small space, a large smug grin spreading across his face. It was good to be back in this ship again. Missing for years and losing old memories, he didn't think his life could get worse. But, now he had it back, along with something he thought he had lost long ago. It was a surprise to find his son hidden on the Falcon. But, the joy he felt when he found Ben had disappeared when his son obviously didn't want anything to do with him anymore. And Han didn't blame him. It was an even bigger surprise when he saw that one of Ben's arms was gone, he desperately wanted to know what happened, but he knew better; whatever Ben went through he didn't want to talk about it.

Han was brought out of his thoughts when he looked down at the console and saw something he didn't like.

"Hey! Some moofmilker put a compressor on the ignition line." he walked back into the main room.

"Unkar Plutt did. I thought it was a mistake too." Rey said. "Puts too much stress on the hyperdrive." They looked at each other as the said the last part in unison.

"Chewie, throw these two on a pod and drop it on the nearest habitable planet." Han ordered, before making his way to the ships entrance.

"Wait! No!" The scavenger girl objected as she and Finn followed him. "We need your help!"

"My help?"

"We have a droid that needs to get to the Resistance base as soon as possible."

The old smuggler rolled his eyes, and continued to ignore them. but froze when he heard Finn speak.

"He's carrying a map to Luke Skywalker."

That was a name he hadn't heard in a very long time; and even longer when he last saw him.

"You are the Han Solo who fought with the Rebellion. You knew him" Finn stated.

Slowly, Han looked back at the two. He never thought he would find himself in this position again. "Yeah, i knew him." he whispered. "I knew Luke." Han shifted his gaze back into the main room, and kept on his son, who was avoiding an attempt Chewie was making to get him to talk. Han had lost Luke the same day he lost his son; and not a day went by when he regretted not looking for them hard enough.

A loud clanking noise startled them all.

"Don't tell me a Rathtar's gotten loose." Han said as he ran out of the ships entrance.

"Wait! What?!" Finn panicked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Ben leaned against the grey stained walls of the Millennium Falcon, turned away from a concerned Chewie. The Wookie was trying to everything he could think of to get a word out of the thirty-year-old, to just get him to acknowledge his uncle. Unfortunately it wasn't so easy. Any attempt made was fruitless; Ben was doing his best to ignore Chewie's roars and shrugging off his paws as the Wookie tried to touch his shoulder.

Ben loved his uncle Chewie, there was no doubt about that. Throughout his childhood, his uncle was always there for him. Chewie understood it was hard for him, being different to other children, parents who weren't really around, and anger outbursts that broke hundreds of his mothers vases. It was the worst day of his life when he was sent away to train at the Temple. While Chewie frequently sent messages to him, Ben never saw him again. Until today.

The Wookie couldn't blame Ben for giving him the cold shoulder, he had every right to, but it still stung.

A loud clanking echoed from outside.

Han grumbled a he ran out. "Don't tell me one of the Rathtar's got out."

"Wait! What!?" Finn panicked as he and Rey followed. "Did you just say Rathtar!?"

Rolling his eyes, Ben watched his Han and the other two rushed outside, along with Chewie, who begrudgingly left his side. The one-armed man made no sign of moving from were he was leaning against the wall; convinced that whatever was happening out there was not worth his time. Especially when it concerned his father. Maybe he could use this distraction to steal the ship and make his way across the galaxy. However, Ben couldn't help but dismiss that thought; while he owed nothing to Han Solo, he couldn't, he  _wouldn't_ , abandon the others. They helped him get away from the Order, and if he left now, how different would he be from his father?

Always running away.

Beeping from the motivator compartment caught his attention. Ben gave a small flinch when he saw a few cables shooting up and attaching to the ceiling. BB-8 lifted himself up from the compartment, and rolling out to join the others. Sphero quickly followed, only to pause with he noticed that Ben wasn't moving. He made a few inquisitive beeps.

"I'm not getting myself caught in his mess." Ben answered.

The former First Order droid retorted back with a fierce statement.

"So what? It's their choice to blindly run into Han's problems."

Sphero said nothing as he continued to stare at Ben. While the droid could not make any facial expressions, Ben knew the droid was giving him a stern look.

Huffing, Ben relented. "Fine, but if this gets us killed, i'm scraping you for parts."

Running down the corridors and down the ships ramp, with Sphero behind him, Ben stepped into a large dark hangar filled with crates and other cargo. He spotted the others gathered around a surveillance screen, showing visuals from cameras inside and outside the ship.

"You're not hauling Rathtar's on this freighter, are you?" He heard Finn's anxious voice echo.

"I'm hauling Rathtar's." Han calmly stated, as he tapped on the screen.

Breathing in deep, Ben reluctantly made his way over. "What have you done now, old man?" he called.

All there heads turned towards him in surprise. "What makes you think I've done anything?" Han enquired.

"This is you we're talking about." Ben retorted as he came up to them.

Han rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the screen. "Oh, great. Its the Guavian Death Gang." he said as they watched the security footage of a ship docking outside. "Must've tracked us from Nantoon."

"What's a Rathtar?" Rey asked as they made their way into the freighter.

"They're big and they're dangerous."

"Ever hear of the Trillia Massacre?" Finn asked Rey.

"No."

"Good."

Ben walked at the back of the group, listening to the conversation. It was worse then he imagined. What was his idiotic father thinking? Rathtar's were one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy. Being responsible for the Trillia Massacre skyrocketed their value to collector's. Han must be being paid a lot to transport them to wherever they're going. It was a wonder how Solo was able to obtain them.

"I've got three of them going to King Prana." Han stated.

"Three!?" Finn exclaimed. "How'd you get them on board?"

"I used to have bigger crew."

 _'That answers that.'_ Ben thought.

They stopped in front of a floor hatch; Chewie reaching down to open it. Ben gave a quick look down, and immediately assumed it was a quick way to sneak around, in-case of trouble. He was about to reprimand his father for sticking to his old ways when Sphero beeped from behind him.

"We're gonna talk about that thing later." Han said to Ben, pointing at Sphero. "Get below and stay there. And, don't even think about about taking the Falcon."

"What about BB-8?" Rey asked.

"Stays with me until i get rid of the gang, and you can be on your way."

"What about the Rathtar's, where you keeping them?" Finn panicked.

Finn's question was answered when a loud  _thump_  came from behind them, Rey exclaiming in fright.

"There's one." Han pointed to behind them.

Ben flinched when he saw a big bulging eye smack into the window to the compartment cell behind them, twitching and switching its direction of view. It was riled up, and being in a confined space was only making it worse. Ben elected to ignore the bloodthirsty animal and turn his attention back to the group.

"What are you going to do?" Rey enquired as she stepped down into the hatch.

"Same thing i always do. Talk my out of it."

Chewie roared, mocking him. "Yes, i do. Every time." Han retorted back.

Ben rolled his eyes. His mother was right, Han really was a nerf-herder.

A growl from the Rathtar piqued his interest. Looking up at the cell window, Ben saw that the Rathtar's eye was still there, staring at him. While he was safe on the outside of the cell, and the creature inside, he couldn't help but feel like he was the one stuck in the cage. It unnerved Ben, making him uncomfortable and...observed.

* * *

_A young man, sat huddled in the corner of a dark cell, quiet sobbing breaths emitting from trembling lips. Curled up with his head leaning to side and on the Durasteel wall, he cradled his injured arm and mangled fingers as he shivered. It was cold in the cell, and he wore nothing but thin, tattered rags. His black hair reached his shoulders and was tangled with bits of blood, dried into the knots, his pale skin was bruised and grazed._

_He didn't know how long it was since they threw him back in here, and he was starting to not care. He just wanted it to end. But, he knew it wouldn't; despite his poor health and appearance, they still wanted him alive. They'd 'train' him until he was only about an inch away from death then stop. Giving him enough medical assistance to keep him alive, but not healthy. He hadn't eaten in what he thinks is days, and he hasn't been able to shower for weeks._

_Death was better than this._

_He didn't want this. He never asked for it. Many times he had tried to reach out with the force and contact his mother, uncle,_ anyone _, but the collar around his neck was always a shocking reminder of how he wasn't able to, and the consequences it resulted in. For over the past two years, he has been trapped on a star-ship that hid in the unknown regions of the galaxy, suffered the abuse from his captors and waited for help he knew would never come. His uncle had always told him to never give up hope; he gave up hope a long time ago._

_Now...he just waits for day when he can be at peace. In life or death._

_A loud_ bang  _on the cell door startled him, making him look up from his curled form. Watery bloodshot eyes looked up the window in fear. They've spent all this time trying to mould him into a perfect dark soldier, shoving fear, anger and hatred into his heart. And they succeeded. But, that hatred and fear wasn't towards the galaxy, it was towards_ them _, the ones who made his life hell. He missed the familiarity of his lightsaber, the warmth of his mothers words, and the gentle forest that surrounded the temple. Despite him being lonely and miserable, he wanted to go back to days when he was free, before he was forcibly taken away by someone whom he thought he could trust._

_He stared at the small window, the only source of light, on the cell door; he knew what was going happen next, but it didn't stop him form being scared every time it did. He flinched when he saw golden eyes step into view. Eyes he feared, eyes he hated._

_Then the door opened..._

* * *

Ben blinked out of the memory when he felt a hand grasping his shoulder, lightly shaking it. Looking around, he saw that he was still in the corridors of his father's new freighter. The Rathtar at the window had retreated, possibly losing interest in Ben when the staring became too boring. Han was standing in front of him, looking concerned; he was holding Ben's shoulder, watching as his son came back to reality.

It hurt to see his own son suffer the effects of, what he could only imagine was, agonizing and extreme torture. The fact that Ben had lost an arm, his right and dominant arm, just made things worse; and judging by his response when he inquired about it, Han knew that he didn't lose his arm in an accident.

"Kid, you alright?" he asked, concerned.

It seemed to bring him out of whatever stupor he was in. Ben lightly shook his head, slowly looking around him and gaining his bearings.

"I'm fine." His son answered.

This did nothing to ease Han's concern. "You sure?" He grabbed both of Ben's shoulders. "If you're not feeling too well, you stay on the Falcon."

"I said, 'i'm fine!'" Ben snapped, shrugging Han off. "Just clean up your mess."

Han watched as his son walked off and jumped down the hatch, following Finn and Rey, and ignoring the curious beeps of the First Order Droid. This wasn't good. He knew he was a lousy father, but he didn't think it was this bad. But, something told him that there was more to the resentment Ben targeted at him. Han had to find out what happened to him. Judging by the clothes Ben is wearing, he hadn't been living the most luxurious life, and whatever he'd been through, it had taken its toll on his son. Ben was right. He had to clean up his mess.

And he wasn't talking about the Rathtars.

* * *

Han walked marched down the corridor, with Chewie and the two BB-units following, trusting that Ben and the other two will be safe. His hand itched to pull his blaster out of its holster, but Han knew that it would only just make things worse than they were. He stopped when he saw the doors on the far end of the corridor open, revealing six men, five of them wearing round helmets, carrying blasters.

"Han Solo. You're a dead man." The one without the helmet announced.

Han smiles innocently. "Bala-Tik. What's the problem?"

"The problem is we loaned you fifty thousand for this job." Ben would've scowled if he could, but saw no consequences in rolling his eyes. Of course, his father would con gang for money, there was no way he could afford a ship as big as this. The dark-haired man crawled after Finn and Rey, who were trying to assess the situation.

"Can you see them?" Rey whispered.

"No." Finn answered, continuing to move further down the crawl space as the conversation above progressed.

"I heard you also borrowed fifty thousand from Kanjiklub." Bala-Tik continued.

"You know you can't trust those little freaks," Han argued. "How long have we known each other?"

Down in the crawl space, the trio had arrived under the gang. "They have blasters." Rey said to Finn.

"A lot of 'em."

Ben looked up at the gang, and tried to see if there was any way they could get out. Han, Chewie and the droids were armed and had the advantage of running and disappearing down the corridors, but the gang had blasters and wouldn't hesitate to shoot them on sight, however the gang didn't know they were down here, giving the three an element of surprise.

"The question is how much longer are we gonna know each other?" The gang leader glared.

"You think hunting Rathtar's is cheap? I spent that money." Han stated.

"Kanjiklub, wants their investment back, too."

Han threw his hands up" I never made a deal with Kanjiklub!"

"Tell that to Kanjiklub." Bala-Tik pointed behind them.

Han turned to see that the door at the other end of the ,dimly lit, corridor open for another group of armed men. Han was quickly running out of ideas. He had tried to convince and assure the Guavian Death Gang; but he never thought of the two gangs consulting each other beforehand. Things just got a lot harder. "Tasu-Leech," Han pointed. "good to see you."

The Kanjiklub leader spoke in an alien language.  _"Wrong again Solo. It's over for you."_ The man cocks his blaster, making BB-8 beep in worry, Sphero stayed silent but could feel the tense atmosphere get thicker. Below, the group of three became aware of the new gang and started to crawl the other way.

Han looked at both gangs, arms spread nervously. "Boys! You're gonna get what i promised. Have i ever not delivered for you before?!"

The gang leaders answered at the same time.

"Yeah."

"Twice."

Bala-Tik was right- Han was a dead man. "What was the second time?" he asked Tasu-Leech.

"Your game is old. There's no one in the galaxy left for you to swindle." Bala-Tik yelled.

_"Nowhere left for you to hide."_

"That BB-unit," the gang leader took a step forward looking at BB-8. "The First Order is looking for one just like it. And three fugitives."

The trio froze in the crawl space. Ben wanted to scream and curse in all the languages he knew. BB-8 rolled behind Han's leg in an attempt to hide, but stuck his out to watch the gang. They were in so much trouble.

"First I've heard of it." That was actually true, he wasn't aware of the Order looking for them. Looking for Ben.

Tasu-Leech, ordered one of the members behind him to search the ship. The member stepped forward, blaster in hand and shining a flashlight through the grated floor. Rey, Finn and Ben witnessed this and quickly turned back. They didn't go far as Rey stopped them with a hurried: "Wait, wait, wait, wait." She went ahead and crawled up to a junction box, taking a look behind them she saw the gang members flashlight wasn't far behind.

"If we close the blast doors in that corridor, we can trap both gangs." she explained.

Finn looked doubtful. "Close the blast door from here?"

"Resetting the fuses should do it." Rey reached forward and pressed a few of the buttons.

"Wait!" Ben grabbed Rey's arm.

But, it was too late. Loud  _thunking_ sounds emitted across the ship, followed by the deafening roars of the newly released Rathtar's.

Han's eyes widened. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Oops." Rey winced, going pale.

"What do you by 'Oops'" Finn panicked.

Ben turned to Rey, his expression hard. "Wrong fuses." he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late chapter, been busy and had a bit of trouble writing this one. I was debating whether to put the fight with the Rathtar's in it or not, but decided to let for the next chapter. The ending of this chapter is pretty crap, i couldn't be bothered to edit it and just gave up.
> 
> I'll try to get the next one out soon.


End file.
